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Friday, September 28, 2012

CHICAGO—Two leaders of separate drug
trafficking organizations that operated independently while sometimes supplying
each other with multiple kilograms of cocaine were arrested and are among 39
defendants who are facing federal drug charges, federal and local law
enforcement officials announced today. The charges contained in a criminal
complaint stem from an investigation led jointly by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration that began in July 2011,
with assistance from other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

Agents yesterday executed three federal
search warrants at the same time as they began arresting defendants in the
Chicago area, as well as in Indiana, Texas, and California. Agents seized
approximately 2.5 kilograms of cocaine, $176,800 cash, and several guns. The
two alleged leaders, Jesus Ramirez-Padilla and Humberto Jimenez, were among 27
defendants who were arrested, while the whereabouts of four others were
accounted for, and eight remained fugitives. Previously, during the year-long
investigation, agents seized more than 13 kilos of cocaine, 10 kilos of
marijuana, 1.5 kilos of heroin, and approximately $75,000.

All 39 defendants were charged with
various drug distribution offenses in a criminal complaint that was filed
Wednesday in U.S. District Court and unsealed yesterday following the arrests.
The defendants who were arrested began appearing yesterday before Magistrate
Judge Maria Valdez in U.S. District Court and remain in federal custody pending
detention hearings scheduled for next week.

Yesterday’s operation brings to nearly
100 the number of defendants who have been arrested and charged in Chicago with
federal or state drug trafficking offenses in just the last three weeks.

Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States
Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, praised the dedication and
teamwork of the FBI, DEA, and HSI agents who worked diligently with the Chicago
Police Department to disrupt these alleged drug trafficking organizations. Mr.
Shapiro announced the charges with William C. Monroe, Acting Special Agent in
-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Jack
Riley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the Drug
Enforcement Administration; Gary Hartwig, Special Agent in Charge of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations
(HSI) in Chicago; and Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police
Department. The U.S. Marshals Service and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal
Investigation Division also assisted, together with the Illinois State Police,
the Cook County Sheriff’s Police, and the Berwyn and Oak Lawn Police
Departments. The investigation was conducted under the umbrella of the U.S.
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).

According to the complaint affidavit,
the investigation determined that Ramirez-Padilla, 39, and Jimenez, 26, both of
Chicago, each led his own drug trafficking organization. Both organizations
regularly bought and sold multiple kilos of powder cocaine on Chicago’s
southwest side. Each organization had its own wholesale distributors, drug
couriers, stash houses, workers, and suppliers. While the Ramirez and Jimenez
organizations operated independently, they sometimes supplied each other with
kilograms of powder cocaine. Both organizations took steps to protect
themselves from detection by law enforcement, including: using code words to
disguise references to narcotics and other items; regularly replacing telephones;
using different vehicles to transport drugs; and engaging in
counter-surveillance techniques.

The 205-page affidavit details
conversations among various defendants that were intercepted on 26 different
telephones during the investigation pursuant to court-authorized electronic
surveillance.

Sixteen defendants, who were charged in
two separate conspiracies to possess and distribute cocaine and/or heroin, face
a mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $10
million fine. The remaining defendants face maximum sentences up to 20 or 40
years in prison and a maximum fine of $2 million or $5 million. If convicted,
the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the
advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The government is being represented by
Assistant United States Attorneys Nathalina Hudson, Joseph Thompson, and John
Kness.

The public is reminded that a complaint
contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed
innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the
burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is the product of an
investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Innocence Lost Task
Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Reardon is prosecuting the case.

According to court documents, in January
2012, Tatum started a sexual relationship with the 14-year-old victim. On
February 21, 2012, agents found Internet advertisements for the prostitution
services of the girl in Stockton. These advertisements contained three sexually
explicit images taken of her in Sacramento in January. The phone number on the
advertisements was Tatum’s cellphone. Agents called and made a “date.” When
officers arrived, they saw the 14-year-old girl on the street corner with Tatum
standing approximately 50 meters away. When officers apprehended the victim,
Tatum took off running but surrendered 15 minutes later after police dogs were
brought into the chase.

According to court documents, the
14-year-old had been working as a prostitute for Tatum since she ran away from
home in February. She said that she had given all the money that she had made
to him. Text messages recovered from Tatum’s phone confirmed that he was the
victim’s pimp.

Tatum is scheduled for sentencing by
United States District Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. on January 3, 2013, at
9:00 a.m. Tatum faces a potential sentence of five years to life in prison. The
actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court
after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal
Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case was brought as part of Project
Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department
of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and
abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s
Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals
federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those
who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more
information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click
on the “Resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.

The FBI is announcing the arrest of
Krystal Mae Alvarado, age 22, as a result of the investigation into the robbery
of the Bank of America, located inside of the of Albertson grocery store at 543
Sweetwater Road in Spring Valley, California, on Tuesday, February 21, 2012.

On Tuesday, February 21, 2012, at
approximately 4:34 p.m., an unknown female armed with a firearm robbed a teller
at the Bank of America located inside of the Albertsons grocery store at 543
Sweetwater Road in Spring Valley, California. At the time of the robbery, the
robber approached the teller and presented a demand note. The robber lifted up
her shirt and displayed the handle of a firearm that was positioned at her
waistline. The robber ordered the teller to place the money into a black and
white purse the robber was carrying. After receiving a sum of money, the robber
walked out of the grocery store, heading north.

According to the complaint filed in this
matter with the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, case
number 12MJ3426, on September 16, 2012, Alvarado voluntarily surrendered to FBI
agents and was interviewed concerning the robbery. Alvarado confessed to
robbing the bank and apologized for doing so. On Monday, September 17, 2012,
Alvarado was arrested by FBI agents investigating the robbery. Alvarado was
taken into custody without incident.

On Monday, September 24, 2012, Alvarado
had her initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge, David H. Bartick.
Alvarado remains in custody at the Bureau of Prisons, Metropolitan Correctional
Center in San Diego, California. This case is being prosecuted by the U.S.
Attorney’s Office.

An arrest itself is not evidence that
the defendant committed crimes charged. The defendant is presumed innocent
until the government meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt.

The FBI is releasing photographs and
video from a robbery that took place Thursday, September 20, 2012, at
approximately 7:50 p.m. at the Saks Fifth Avenue at 6000 West Glades Road in
Boca Raton, Florida.

Several robbers entered the store,
ordered employees and customers to lay on the ground, and took money from a
register and merchandise from a display case. There were no injuries. The
amount of money and merchandise taken will not be released at this time.

It is believed that the robbers used a
black sedan as a getaway vehicle.

The FBI, Boca Raton Police Department,
and the South Florida Violent Crime Task Force continue their investigation.
The FBI and its South Florida Violent Crime Task Force are involved in this
matter as part of an initiative to assist local law enforcement agencies combat
violent crime.

There is a $5,000 reward for information
provided to the FBI leading to the arrest and conviction of the subjects
responsible for this robbery.

Anyone who has information as to the
identity of these robbers is urged to call the FBI at (305) 944-9101 or the
Boca Raton Police Department at (561) 338-1246.

David B. Fein, United States Attorney
for the District of Connecticut, announced that two men involved in a New Haven
drug trafficking organization were sentenced today by Senior United States
District Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven.

This matter stems from a joint law
enforcement investigation conducted by the FBI New Haven Safe Streets Task
Force, the DEA New Haven Task Force, the New Haven Police Department, and the
Hamden Police Department. Through the use of court-authorized wiretaps,
investigating officers identified and dismantled a large drug trafficking
organization that was centered in the Newhallville section of New Haven and
Hamden and was responsible for the distribution of crack cocaine and cocaine
throughout the Greater New Haven area.

Gemini Napoleon, also known as “G.I.,”
“Poe,” and “Gemi,” 32, of New Haven, was sentenced to 140 months of
imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release. On May 1, 2012,
Napoleon pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to
distribute more than 280 grams of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”). According to
court documents and statements made in court, in early 2010, law enforcement
officers conducted three controlled purchases of crack from Napoleon. Later in
2010, Napoleon was intercepted multiple times over a wiretap ordering
distribution quantities of crack.

Napoleon’s criminal history includes
felony convictions for sale of narcotics, sale of a controlled substance,
possession of narcotics, and assault in the second degree.

Marc Hobson, also known as “Unc” and
“Bean,” 37, of New Haven, was sentenced to 72 months of imprisonment, followed
by three years of supervised release. On March 8, 2012, Hobson pleaded guilty
to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base. According to court
documents and statements made in court, between June and October 2010, Hobson
was intercepted numerous times over a wiretap ordering eighth-ounce quantities
of crack cocaine from another member of the conspiracy. He then sold the crack
in smaller quantities to his own customer base.

Hobson’s criminal history includes three
convictions for sale of narcotics and one conviction for sale of a controlled
substance.

Forty-seven individuals have been
charged in federal court with various narcotics offenses as a result of this
investigation.

U.S. Attorney Fein noted that federal
prisoners are required to serve at least 85 percent of their sentenced term of
imprisonment and are not eligible for parole.

This matter was investigated by the FBI
New Haven Safe Streets Task Force (composed of members of members of the New
Haven, Milford, and Hamden Police Departments and the Connecticut Department of
Correction), the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Task Force
(composed of members of the New Haven, West Haven, Meriden, Ansonia, Hamden,
and Branford Police Departments), along with substantial participation by
members of the New Haven and Hamden Police Departments. The United States
Marshals Service also has assisted the investigation.

The investigation was funded in
significant part by the United States Attorney’s Office Organized Crime Drug
Enforcement Task Force and supported by the Office’s Project Safe Neighborhoods
and Anti-Gang programs.

This matter is being prosecuted by
Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher M. Mattei and Robert M. Spector.